Dr. Ford Doolittle receives Lifetime Achievement Award

February 5, 2025

(L to R) Dr. Steve Armstrong (Genome Atlantic), Dr. Ford Doolittle (Dalhousie University) and Dr. Rob Annan (Genome Canada) photo credit: Laura Collins for Genome Canada

Congratulations to Dr. Ford Doolittle, Professor Emeritus, Dalhousie University, who was presented with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the Canadian Genomics Summit in February 2025. Dr. Doolittle is a legend in the field of evolutionary biology and evolutionary theory. His pioneering research on horizontal gene transfer, genome evolution, and the concept of “selfish DNA” has redefined traditional views of evolution, offering new insights into how genetic material shapes life’s diversity.

“What drives me is a feeling of responsibility to understand the journey that brought us here and to uncover the very essence of what defines is .”

- Dr. Ford Doolittle

“Dr. Doolittle’s passion for science is unparalleled, as is his unwavering determination to help students, colleagues, and citizens at large to understand the ‘how and why’ of the building blocks of life. The importance of consistently pushing the boundaries of science and challenging long-standing theories is hard-wired into Ford’s DNA,” commented Genome Atlantic President & CEO Dr. Steve Armstrong who nominated Dr. Doolittle for his Award.

Dr. Doolittle is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and is a recipient of the Gerhard Herzberg Gold medal from NSERC (accompanied by a $1 million prize) and the Killam prize of the Canadian Council. He directed the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s Evolutionary Biology Program for 20 years, received an award of excellence from the Genetics Society of Canada, and is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, to name just a few. Many years after completing his BA from Harvard and his PhD in Biochemistry from Stanford, Dr. Doolittle at the age of 73 completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography at the Nova Scotia College of At and Design.

Below is Dr. Doolittle’s Biography, prepared by Genome Canada, in recognition of his Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Ford Doolittle, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University
Dr. Ford Doolittle has an insatiable appetite for interacting with ideas. For more than half a century, the molecular biologist has been searching for answers to some of the most significant evolutionary questions. He is a visionary whose research on lateral gene transfer, genome evolution, and the concept of “selfish DNA” has redefined our understanding of the evolutionary process.

When Dr. Doolittle started out as a graduate student at Stanford in the mid 1960s, very little was known about genes. His pioneering research has helped to shed light on the how and why of the building blocks of life, offering profound insights into how genetic material shapes life’s diversity. Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Doolittle has consistently pushed the boundaries of science and challenged long-standing theories. For instance, he sparked debate about his controversial paper in 1999 suggesting that Darwin’s evolutionary tree was an inadequate model for understanding two-thirds of life on Earth. His alternate theory that gene-swapping is common among miniscule life forms like bacteria is now accepted as one of the major forces driving microbial genome evolution.

For more than three decades, Dr. Doolittle also inspired the next generation of scientists as a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dalhousie University. Although he retired from full-time teaching in 2008, he continues to be driven by a desire to learn and explore ideas about the philosophy of biology, focusing on function and natural selection. In 2024, he completed his first solo book, Darwinizing Gaia.

Dr. Doolittle was nominated for a Genomics Impact Award by Genome Atlantic for his outstanding contribution to genomic research over the past 60 years.

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